Blind Alley

I've seen BLIND ALLEY in 1946 when amercan films starts to come in europe after the war - I've never seen it again -In France nobody knows who was CHESTER MORRIS At this time i was looking at 400 films by year- Later films like DESPERATE HOURS with Bogart and PURSUED with Mitchum has remind me BLIND ALLEY (for PURSUED: when the kid is under the table-and for Desparate the psychanalyst subject between F March and Bogart) Am i wrong ? Chester Morris was not a very good actor i suppose but good enough for me

No dictionary french or english pays mention to his films (only tv) I'm know a movie poster collector and looking all the time for CHESTER'S FILMS NOIRS So, please, let me know about it - with thanks

Chichin

I saw this movie when I was seven, 'way back in 1939. I had never seen anything like the dream sequence and the psychiatrist's explanation. They both were shot from the camera's viewpoint, something I wasn't to see again until Robert Montgomery's version of Raymond Chandler's "The Lady In The Lake. This stuck in my cerebellum since. The remake, "The Dark Past," with Wm. Holden wasn't quite as good, but then I was older and more sophisticated when I saw that one. And, anyone who says Chester Morris couldn't act obviously hasn't seen "The Big House," "Three Godfathers" (not the John Wayne one), or any of the Boston Blackie movies. P.S. Where are the Boston Blackie movies?

Director Charles 'GILDA' Vidor's psychological crime drama has a few interesting touches as hard-boiled gangster Hal Wilson (Chester 'BOSTON BLACKIE' Morris) breaks out of jail, kills the warden and, together with his gang, hides out at psychology professor Dr. Shelby's (Ralph Bellamy) riverside home and holds him and his dinner party guests hostage whilst awaiting the boat to take them across the river to freedom. During a long dark night of the soul - and after Wilson has demonstrated his trigger-happy nature by murdering one of the male guests who stands up to him - Shelby manages to psychoanalyse the violent hoodlum and discovers what made him who he is. If this sounds somewhat familiar to crime movie buffs it's because it was remade nine years later as THE DARK PAST (with, respectively, William Holden and Lee J. Cobb in the principal roles of gangster and shrink) when the post-War trend for psychoanalysis may have lent it greater resonance. The culture clash elements in BLIND ALLEY would probably have resonated more with an audience of the day familiar with the narrative and thematic tropes of the earlier THE PETRIFIED FOREST but what makes this interesting today are some interesting stylistic touches like Wilson's recurring nightmare shown in reverse negative and his final recovered memory revealed in subjective I-camera point of view. Otherwise, the film never really betrays its origins as a stage play and often feels rather static and talky even with a running time of just over an hour. Still, it's interesting to see a couple of now almost forgotten 30s stars like Chester Morris and Ann 'SCARFACE' Dvorak as the hard-boiled gangster and his moll as well as a film attempting to do something different with the crime movie staples of the day even if it all inevitably seems a shade simplistic and formulaic in these more morally compromised times. However, it's an elusive title these days and is still recommended to fans of vintage crime movies who get the chance to see it.

Based on a 1935 Broadway success, this film presents an early "psychological" approach to depicting a cold-blooded criminal, here played by Chester Morris, an excellent and very versatile actor, ably supported by a fine cast including Ann Dvorak and Ralph Bellamy. My wife, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen, and I are currently writing the first-ever book on Chester Morris, which hopefully will correct any oversights that have been made about this performer and introduce a new generation of classic film fans to his extensive body of work, on film, television and radio. Morris also was a well-respected star on stage, following in the footsteps of his father, William Morris, and sharing the profession with his younger brother, Adrian, who unfortunately died far too soon.

Blind Alley from 1939 starring Ralph Bellamy and Chester Morris is a B movie, remade as an A in 1948 starring Lee J. Cobb and William Holden.

Morris plays Hal Wilson, a murderer who escapes from prison with his gang. They take hostages in the home of a psychiatrist, Dr. Selby, who tries analysis to get into the mind of the killer, who has a persistent nightmare. Director Charles Vidor employs a photo-negative technique in both dream sequences.

The psychology used is fairly ridiculous, and Morris is a tad over the top. The standout performance comes from Ann Dvorak, who plays Hal's girlfriend. Bellamy with his mellifluous voice makes a great psychiatrist.

Kind of a rushed ending. The A version of this is superior, but this holds interest.